Trey Radel, the Florida congressman who pleaded guilty to a cocaine charge in November, has resigned from Congress despite his earlier promise to forge ahead and remain in his job.

He delivered a resignation letter to House speaker John Boehner on Monday.

'Unfortunately, some of my struggles had serious consequences,' he wrote. 'While I have dealt with those issues on a personal level, it is my belief that I cannot fully and effectively serve as a United States Representative to the place I call home, Southwest Florida.'

Radel, a former radio talk show host and television journalist, took a leave of absence from the House of Representatives after a stint in rehab. It was unlikely that the first-term Republican would run for re-election.

Several challengers have cropped up in
his heavily Republican Naples, Florida district, including Sean
Hannity, the popular talk show host and Fox News Channel personality.

Scroll down for video and Radel's letter

Rep. Henry 'Trey' Radel pleaded guilty in November to buying cocaine and now plans to resign from Congress

Sean Hannity has the nation's second-largest radio audience and a hit evening show on Fox News, but he could trade it all away for a chance to put his conservative beliefs into practice as a U.S. congressman

The Tampa Bay Times reports that Hannity 'has spoken to people about running for Congress from Naples.'

Asked about the possibility during his January 22 Fox broadcast, he conceded, 'The answer is yes, I think about it.'

Hannity
will be in Washington on Tuesday to attend President Obama's State of
the Union address as a guest of hyper-conservative Texas Republican Rep.
Louie Gohmert.

Also in the mix is former state representative Paige Kreegel, who finished third to Radel in a 2012 primary and has the support of a super PAC with $1 million already in its coffers.

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

Share

Former Rep. Connie Mack – who held Radel's seat until last year, may also run to replace Radel.

The congressman's office confirmed his departure on Monday but didn't offer further comment.

A House Republican source told MailOnline that the timing of the congressman's resignation is related to an investigation by the House Office of Congressional Ethics, which was poised to recommend official sanctions against Radel.

That committee will now cease its work without issuing a formal report.

The investigation was triggered by an OCE rule requiring action, or a written explanation of why no action was taken, within 30 days.

Zoned out: Radel has appeared in the past alongside prominent GOP leaders like House Speaker John Boehner (L) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R), but his days in the limelight may be over

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics
in Washington, a liberal-leaning watchdog group, demanded an
investigation on November 21, the day after he entered his guilty plea
in court.

'Rep. Radel's resignation is welcome, though overdue,' the organization's president,Melanie Sloan, said Monday. 'The timing, however, is certainly suspicious.'

'Why now? It’s not as if the Republican leadership just learned of the cocaine bust over the weekend. It seems possible his resignation is intended to stymie the ethics investigation that might have elicited damaging information about other members of Congress and congressional staff.'

Congressman Hannity? He's admitted that the thought has crossed his mind

The Republican
Party of Florida had called for Radel's resignation shortly after he
announced his entry into an intensive inpatient drug rehab program.

He pleaded guilty to cocaine possession in November, and drew a one-year probation sentence.

'I'm profoundly sorry to let down my family, particularly my wife and son, and the people of Southwest Florida,' he wrote on Facebook after his arrest for buying 3.5 grams of coke from an undercover police officer on October 29..

'I struggle with the disease of alcoholism, and this led to an extremely irresponsible choice. As the father of a young son and a husband to a loving wife, I need to get help so I can be a better man for both of them.'

Lee County, Florida Sheriff Mike Scott, a Republican, has been a source of unrelenting pressure on Radel since his public troubles began.

'While Radel returned to his Congressional office following a microwave stint in rehab and a gaggle of rehearsed apologies, I have hundreds of inmates in our jail that are unable to return to their home due to similar or lesser drug offenses," Scott wrote this month on Facebook.

'The sad reality is that Trey Radel does not even qualify to drive a Lee County school bus at this point, yet he occupies a seat in Congress. I have fired Deputies for less.'